Application of Enzymes in Bioremediation of Contaminated Hydrosphere and Soil Environment

Abstract

Due to the ever-increasing global population, industrial sector is growing at a rapid rate which is leading to increase in discharge of hazardous and harmful substances in the environment. Enzymes play an important role in the management of environment by detoxifying or transforming harmful substances into useful products. A variety of enzymes have been isolated from bacteria, fungi, and plants having a wider application in degradation and/or transformation of toxic environmental pollutants. They have been used either in isolated or in bound form for the decontamination of water and soil contaminated with organic (pesticides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic biphenyls, etc.) and inorganic (heavy metals and radionuclides) pollutants. Enzymes that belong to oxidoreductase group detoxify the aromatic compounds through polymerization and co-polymerization with other substrates. This group includes oxygenases, microbial laccases, and peroxidases. Apart from the aromatic compounds, heavy metals can also accumulate in the environment that leads to serious health problem because of their lyophilic, persistent, and toxic nature. For example, hexavalent species of chromium is more toxic than its trivalent species. Chromate reductase can convert the Cr6+ to Cr3+ which is more insoluble in water. This chapter presents an overview of application of different enzymes in waste water treatment and remediation of contaminated soil, sludge, and water. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.